Straw-bottom for threshing-machines.



, No. 660,299. Patented Oct. 23, 1900.

- r. F. LANDIS.

ST'BAW BUTT-0M FOR THBESHING MACHINES.

(Application filed Kay 5, 1899.) Modem 3 Shouts-Sheet l'.,

WITNESSES IN VE N 70/? m: noams PEYERS co. Mraumo" wnsumomu, D c.

No. 660,299. Patented Oct. 23, I900.

I F. F. LANDIS.

STBAW BOTTOM FUR THBEsHme MACHINES.

(Application filed Kay 6, 1899.) (No Model.) 1 3 Shoots-Sheet 2.

p WITNESSES:

m: cams PETERS co, FNOTO-LITNQ, WASNINGTON, n. c.

Patented Oct. 23, I900.

F.- F. LANDIS.

STRAW BOTTOM FOR THRESHING MACHINES.

- (Application filed May 6, 1599.

3 Sheets-sheaf 3.

(No Iodl.)

W/TNESSES 3 LN I AT ENE) iIS her of mounting and operating the same; Fig.

scribed and claimed.

downward movement; Fig. 6, a similar view UNiTED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK F. LANDIS, W'AYNESBOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

STRAW-BOTTQOM FOR TH RESHlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,299, dated October 23, 1900.

V Application filed May 5, 1899. Serial No. 715,711. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANK F. LANDIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waynesborough, in the county of Franklin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improv'ements'in Straw-Bottoms for Threshing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my said invention is to provide a straw bottom for threshingmachines which, while being of an inexpensive and durable construction, will possess unusual capability for propelling the straw through the machine and separating the grain therefrom; andit consistsin various improvements in the construction and arrangementv of parts whereby these objects are accom- .plished, as will be hereinafter more fully de- Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 which are made a part hereof and on which i similar letters of reference indicate similar; parts, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through a separator of a threshing-inachine, those portions only being shown needed to make plain the position of the straw-bottom in relation to the other parts and the man 2, a longitudinal section through a straw-bot- 1 tom of my improved construction, on an en-'v larged scale, in the position it occupies just as it is about to begin its forward movement; Fig. 3, a similar view just as it has reached. the limit of its upward movement; Fig. 4, a "similar v-iew just as it has reached the limit of its forward movement; Fig. 5, a similar view just as it has reached the limit of its illustrating a somewhat-modified form and arrangement of mounting and operating the parts; and Fig. 7, a similar view of a portion of the straw-bottom, illustrating modifications in its construction.

In Figs. 2 to 5 I have illustrated the effect of the motion of the straw-bottom upon the chaff and grain deposited thereon as it moves from one position to another, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. In Fig. 1 the arrangement for mounting and operating which I commonly employ is illustrated, and modifications in said arrangement are shown in the other views, as will also be explained hereinafter.

The straw-bottom frame consists of bars A, having side boards A and transverse vertical partitions a. The upper edges of said sides and partitions are chamfered to nearly a sharp edge in order that there may be no flat surface upon which thegrain may strike and bound. They are made of a height substantially equal to or a little greater than the movement of the bottom between horizontal lines, and the partitions a are arranged with spaces between them about equal to'themovement of the bottom between vertical lines.

Said bottom is thus divided into chambers the cross-areas of which are substantially measured by the vertical and longitudinal mo tions thereof. At the bottom of each chamber is a floor a, which extends from one side about three-fourths across the same, and be- 1 low the opening in the first bottom is another,

a which preferably slightly underlaps the floor a. r y

In Fig. 7 I have shown the partitions as made of sheet metal, and such form is both inexpensive and very suitable. In said figure the partitions areindicated by referenceletter P and consist of a single sheet of metal doubled in most of its portions and bent to form the lower narrow horizontal bottom 10 on one side of its vertical portion and the wider main or first bottom 0 on the other side at the proper point. A block of wood to is fitted to rest upon the top of p and supports thebottonl' p, bracing and securing the partition rigidly upon the side bars of the frame. Screws .9 extend through ears or flanges on'the ends of said partitions, near their tops, into the side boards of the straw bottom and hold said tops securely in place. This arrangement is a very desirable one and may be employed, or the entire bottom may be constructed of metal, if desired, as will 'be readily understood.

In Fig. 1 the straw-bottom is shown in two sections, the rear end of the forward section and the forward end of the rear section being mounted on oppositely-extending cranks of a compound crank-shaft 1. In order to give the rear end of the forward section the elevation desired,it is supported a considerable distance above said shaft on a framework, as shown, but is given the same motion as if supported directly on the crank as is the rear section, as will be readily under-' stood. The forward end is supported on a rock-shaft 2 by means of two rocker-arms 3 (one on each side of the machine) and links 4;, which are pivoted to the front corners of said arms at their lower ends and to the front end of said section at their upper ends. To the opposite corners of the rockers 3 are pivoted the connecting rods or bars 5one on each side-which run to the crank of the shaft 1 and support the rear end of said section. Portions of the frame carried by said connecting-rods 5 projecta short distance beyond the forward end of the rear section of the straw-bottom, and a detaining-board A is pivoted thereto at its lower edge and mounted to be adjustable through an arc of about forty-five degrees. To the front side of said board are attacheda number of curved fingers a which have their rear and upper edge notched. Said detainingboard and notched curved fingers are for the purpose of parting dense bunches of straw, as when the straw is very dry and brittle and is broken fine the entire quantity (much resembling a coarse chad) is too dense to allow all the loose grain to pass through the bed of straw when threshing at a rapid rate; but when the straw is in such condition that it is little broken while being threshed then said detaining board is lowered and does not detain the straw at that point. The rear end of the rear section of said straw-bottom is supported by hangers 6. The power is applied to shaft 1 by belt and pulley on the outside of the machine, as usual, from anysource provided, and the general arrangement of the other various parts is substantially a common one. I have shown vertical partitions 01. between the partitions a,transverse thereof,with inclined front edges extending above said partitions (1,. They are graduated in height to correspond with the vertical movement of the various portions of the straw-bottom and are for the purpose of loosening up any bunches of straw that may pass over them and freeing the grain therefrom. Their use is not absolutely necessary, however. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that the partitions a. increase in height from the front to the rear of the front section of the bottom, while they decrease in height from that point on the rear section where it receives the straw from the forward section to its extreme rearend. Thus each chamber is rendered of a height substantially equal to the vertical motion of the bottom at its location. The front end of the front section and the rear end of the rear section having less of such motion than the ends attached to the crank-shaft are therefore provided with lower partitions. While they all may be of uniform height, no advantage would be gained, and I therefore prefer this arrangement, as it makes the bottom much lighter than otherwise.

In Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 I have shown a strawbottom of my improved construction in a single section, mounted at its front end upon a crank-shaft and supported by hangers at its rear end, or one end may be supported on an inclined plane, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or both ends may be supported by hangers and driven by a pitman p, as shown in Fig. 6,0rboth ends might be support ed on crank-shafts, as indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 3. In all cases where the two ends are given the same vertical motion the chain here will be of uniform height throughout, as shown in Fig. 6, and where the vertical motion is made to vary the height of the partitions will he graduated 'to correspond, as shown in the other figures.

In all cases the effect of the reciprocating and up-and-down motion will be substantially the same. As the straw-bottom proceeds in its motion from the position shown in Fig. 2 the straw coming from the heater or thresher is caught by'the upper edges of the partitions a and the grain largely precipitated into the chambers beneath, the straw being carried in the direction of the motion of the bottom from its position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 4. The grain and heavier chaif coming into the chambers as the bottom approaches the position shown in Fig. 2 naturally slide to the rear side of said chambers, as indicated in said figure, being supported on the floor a. During the motion from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 4, however, said floors are slid from under the mass they support, bringing it to the front of the chambers,

where it falls by gravity through the opening I onto the narrow floor or ledge a beneath, from which it is discharged by the motion of the bottom as it proceeds from the position shown in Fig. at'back to that shown in Fig. 2, to the grain-bottom beneath. The currents of air through the narrow openings in the bottom largely assist in its operation. As the bottom starts up from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 3 the current will be downward through said openings and will tend to hold the straw to the structure to be carried by it; but as it travels downward from the position shown in Fig. 3 back to that shown in Fig. 5 the currents will be upward through said openings and will tend to free said straw from the structure and prevent it from being carried back with it. At the same time the upward currents, combined with the downward and reverse motion of the bottom, tend to throw the light chaff and straw back from one chamber into the next. None of the grain or heavier particles will be thrown from one chamber to another, however, because of their weight and the height of said partitions. It will be seen by a study of Figs. 2 to 5 that the grain and chaif are given a continuous rolling motion, during which the heavier particles, including the grain, will continually work beneath the lighter chaff and toward the discharge-opening, while most of the light stuff will be continuously worked out of the top of the chambers toward the rear of the machine. A very valuableand important feature of the operation consequent upon the particular structure and method of operation is that the chambers always contain a soft cushion (chaff) for the grain to fall upon, and said grain cannot therefore bounce, but at once settles into the bottom of the chamber into which it falls and remains there until worked out the dischargeopening in the operation. By this feature much grain that would be knocked along-by ordinary straw-bottoms until it goes over the tail end thereof with the straw is saved. The narrow floors a prevent any short straws which may come into the chambers eudwise from going through the openings, being held thereby until the bottom starts downward, when the upward air-currents assist to carry them up and into the rearwardly-moving body of straw.

In Fig. 1 I have shown an eccentric rake or picker B for cooperation with the straw-bottom in moving the straw to the rear of the machine. It is provided with two arms I) and b, with their points slightly bent back from the direction of their motion. One of the said arms, I), is considerably longer than the other, as will be noticed, and the driving mechanism thereof is so geared that said long arm will be traveling upward when the bottom is traveling upward and downward when the bottom is traveling downward, the speed being the same. By this arrangement the picker-arms are in a uniform relative position to the upper surface of the straw-bottom at all periods of the operation, the short arm operating during the rising period of the bottom and the long arm during the falling period. Four of these arms can be used, if desired, by having two of the same length (which length is the average length of the long and short arms) interposed midway between the others; but actual use has demonstrated that the long and short arms are sufficient for all ordinary purposes.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted'to have an upward and forward and downward and rearward movement and provided with vertical transverse partitions dividing the same into chambers, said chambers being provided with bottoms and having narrow transverse openings in their bottoms, substantially as set forth.

2. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted on a crank-shaft to' partake of its motion and formed of a series of chamberswith narrow openings in their bottoms, substantially as set forth.

3. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted on a crank-shaft to partake of its motion and divided by vertical transverse partitions into chambers having dischargeopenings in their bottoms, the height of said partitions being substantially equal to the motion of the bottom at its position between longitudinal lines, and the width of the chamber, in the direction of the length of the machine, being substantially equal to the motion of the bottom, between vertical lines, substantially as set forth.

4. In a threshing-machine,the combination, of a straw-bottom formed in to chambers having a cross-area substantially equal in both directions to the motion of said straw-bottom in the corresponding direction, and means for imparting both a vertical and a longitudinal motion to said straw-bottom, substantially as set forth.

5. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines divided by vertical transverse partitions, and mounted to have a longitudinal and up-anddown motion, said up-and-down motion varying in extent at different points, and said partitions being of a height to correspond with said up-and-down motion at the point of its location, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted to have an up-and-down motion, of an eccentric picker, having teeth or arms of different lengths on different sides, geared to bring its short arm into operation during the up motion, and its long arm during the down motion of said bottom, substantially as set forth.

7. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted to reciprocate and provided with transverse partitions dividing the same into chambers having openings in their bottoms, and a second bottom to said chambers beneath said openings,substantially as set forth.

8. A straw-bottom for threshing-machines mounted to reciprocate, and divided by transverse partitions into chambers, each chamber being provided with a double bottom with its two parts in different planes with a dischargeopening between them, substantially as set forth. I

9. A reciprocating straw-bottom for threshing-machin es substantially as described having the adjustable detaining-board A hinged at its tail end and provided with the curved notched fingers a substantially as set forth.

10. 'A straw-bottom for threshing-machines comprising a frame divided into chambers by cross partitions, which chambers are pro vided withbottoms adapted to support and carry a body of chaff and grain during the operation, which bottoms are provided with narrow openings through which the grain may be discharged when moved across the bottom thereto by the throw of the structure, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Waynesborough, Pennsylvania, this 10th day of April, A. D. 1899.

FRANK F. LANDIS. [L. 3.]

Witnesses:

T. S. CUNNINGHAM, E. W. BRADFORD. 

